HE’S STILL ON THE THRONE!

“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3

For many years I had a dear friend and pastor mentor from central Louisiana, Bro. Melvin Smith. He was one of those people whose words stayed with you. Every time we spoke, after our greeting I would ask, “Bro. Melvin, how are you doing?” And almost without fail he would reply, “He’s still on the throne, brother!” I always loved hearing that. Whether he was having a good day or bad day, his answer never changed: “He’s still on the throne, brother!”

Bro. Melvin is in heaven now, but I still think about those words. The older I get, the more I realize how much truth is packed into that simple statement.

THE TALK IN HEAVEN.

That’s exactly what Isaiah discovered in Isaiah 6. Have you ever wondered what they talk about in heaven? Down here we talk about everything…the weather, politics, sports, money, our problems, other people, and sometimes things that don’t amount to very much. But Isaiah was given a glimpse into heaven, and he heard what heaven was saying about God.

Isaiah writes, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up…”

Uzziah, a very godly king, had reigned for more than fifty years. His death marked the end of an era. Everything around Isaiah was changing. But when Isaiah saw this vision of heaven, he discovered something wonderful: the throne was still occupied. The earthly king was dead, but the heavenly King was very much alive. Uzziah was no longer on his throne, but God was still sitting upon His throne, high and lifted up. That’s still good news today. Presidents come and go. Leaders come and go. The stock market rises and falls. Nations change. Our circumstances can change overnight. But God never changes, and His throne is never empty.

Then Isaiah noticed the seraphim surrounding the throne. What a sight that must have been! Each had six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And Isaiah heard them crying one to another, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts.” It’s interesting to me what they did not say. They could have cried, “Powerful, powerful, powerful,” because God is all-powerful. They could have cried, “Wise, wise, wise,” because God knows everything. They could have cried, “Loving, loving, loving,” because God is love. But the word that echoed around the throne was: “Holy, holy, holy.”

GOD IS HOLY.

We use the word holy so often that sometimes we forget what it means. God’s holiness means He is completely pure, completely righteous, and completely separate from sin.

Everything God does is right because His very nature is holy, and His actions flow from who He is.

That means when I don’t understand what God is doing, I can still trust Him. When His answer isn’t the answer I wanted, I can trust Him. When His way doesn’t make sense to me, I can trust Him. When life seems unfair, I can trust Him. Why? Because a holy God can never do an unholy thing. But something else happens when we really begin to see the holiness of God.

WE BEGIN TO SEE OURSELVES DIFFERENTLY.

When Isaiah saw the Lord, he didn’t say, “Wow, look how spiritual I am!” He said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.”

I can remember one day putting on what I thought was a perfectly clean shirt. Standing inside the house, it looked just fine to me. But when I walked outside into the bright sunlight, I suddenly saw a spot I hadn’t noticed before. The sunlight didn’t put the spot there. It simply revealed what was already there. That’s exactly what happened to Isaiah. When we compare ourselves to other people, we can look pretty good. But when Isaiah found himself in the presence of a holy God, he saw himself differently and cried, “Woe is me! for I am undone.”

The closer we get to God, the more clearly, we see ourselves. His holiness doesn’t create what’s wrong in us; it reveals what’s already there. And that is exactly where His grace meets us.

One of the seraphim took a live coal from the altar, touched Isaiah’s lips and said, “thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah saw his sin, but God provided cleansing. Then Isaiah heard God say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And Isaiah answered, “Here am I; send me.”

I love the order. First Isaiah saw the Lord. Then Isaiah saw himself. Then Isaiah was cleansed. Then Isaiah was ready to go and tell others!

Maybe, as a church, what we need more than anything today isn’t a new program, a new method, or a new idea. Maybe we just need a fresh glimpse of who God is. The God Isaiah saw is still on His throne. He is still high and lifted up. He is still worthy of our worship. And heaven is still declaring what has always been true: “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” When everything around us changes, remember God is still on the throne!

PRAY THIS PRAYER WITH ME.

Lord, help me to see You as Isaiah saw You, high and lifted up. Thank you for reminding me that no matter how much things change around me, You are still on Your throne. Give me a fresh awareness of Your holiness, reveal anything in my heart today that is displeasing to You, cleanse me and help me to say with Isaiah, “Here am I; send me.” In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Think it over…